The One and Only Ivan

Applegate, K. A. (2010). The one and only Ivan. (Castelao, P. illus.). Harper. 320 pages. ISBN 9780061992254

Primary genre: fiction

Other elements: friendship, animals, fantasy, loss 

Intended reader age: 8 and up

Synopsis:

Ivan is a silverback gorilla who has lived most of his life at Exit 8 Big Top Mall and Video Arcade off I-95. His days are spent watching TV, being ogled by humans, and engaging in his favorite activity: drawing. It is the arrival of Ruby, a baby elephant, which forces Ivan to face his past and admit that this is no life for a wild animal to live. His one hope to change things involves using his drawing ability and the understanding of one human to get this message across.

Review:

I had heard about this book before it won the Newbury this year and had it in my mental ‘to read’ pile. But, I never took the time to really search it out or read reviews (plus I hate to ruin a story with spoilers). So I pleasantly surprised by the formatting of the book, I had not been expecting the verse style. I really feel this lent a great deal to helping readers connect with Ivan. He is not human so it is not surprising that he would not think or articulate those thoughts as we do.

I read an engaging review of the book that fully articulated a thought I had while reading this story. The review can be found here. When I was reading I found it interesting that Applegate offered that humanizing look at Mack’s past. How he raised Ivan to be an almost surrogate child for him and his wife, but then the wife left, he developed a drinking problem, and Ivan kept growing... All of this wasn’t simply stated up front either, it was revealed when Ivan made his decision to try and change things and began confronting his past. In the review Bird talks about how this lends to the story and makes it more dynamic, less cut-and-dry, and I absolutely agree. I found it terribly difficult to only see Mack as a villain after that revelation.

I prefer to read reviews after I have read a book, so I can formulate my personal thoughts and responses without outside influence. A point that is presented in the book through Stella, and in some of the reviews I read this was a big topic, is that “ ‘a good zoo is how humans make amends’” (p. 64). I got from this that Stella, and by extension Applegate, know and are not disputing that the wild is where these creatures belong. But, when it comes to humans and compared to the alternative zoos are the better option, especially when they are done right. This would definitely make for a great conversation in a classroom or reading group.

The free verse style opens this book up to younger readers than the intended range are. It may throw off the older readers but the underlying message should definitely be enough to interest the. So, I was one of those kids that was a huge fan of the Animorphs series by Applegate and I am glad they started reprinting them for current generations of readers. 

Here it is with it's fancy Newbery medal.